Weekend+ Recap - Back to Midwest and New Clothes!

Oh Hey Hi! Good news, I didn't die from my cold. Yay!

Not only am I not dead, but I'm actually starting to feel pretty good. That cold really did a number on me.

Here's what's happened since my day in bed:

We Went to Michigan!!!

It was my extended family's holiday party AND Mike was able to set-up a residency interview at the UM hospital. Besides all the time spent catching up with family and eating delicious food (shout-out to my aunt who seriously hooked me up with vegan deliciousness!), my favorite moment happened on the flight in:

Just as we got through the clouds on our descent I saw it. My first real snow of the season. Eeeeee! It's good to know that I'll always me a Midwest girl at heart.

The cold weather has also added a new item to my ever growing gratitude list:

Husbands for window scraping. What a great thing.

New Clothes!

Monday was a big day in the Socie household. Mike's Black Friday purchase was finally ready for him. Let me tell you guys, it was worth the wait.

"I'm sexy and I know it"

That dude looks goooood. Who wouldn't want to hire a nice looking guy like that?

After all the sitting and moping and feeling sorry for my sick state of being, I started to get a little restless Monday afternoon. I had some chunky yarn and the perfect set a circular needles to whip up a new hat.

...and hubster with the photobomb win.

Guys, I don't want to brag, but I FREE-HANDED that bad boy! No patterns. No tutorials. Just a picture in my head of what I was going for. 

My new hat arrived just in time for our return to the North. Our trek begins tomorrow. Friday night we have a pit-stop and Bethy's house. Then Saturday we drive the rest of the way to my parents' place. Home Sweet Home.

Tonight is Mike and my Christmas celebration. We've got our gifts to each other and our stockings, Coco-nog and holiday spirits, Christmas movies flagged on Netflix, and a vegan holiday roast ready to go. I can't wait to get the vacation started!

Speaking of vacation, I'm not 100% decided on what will be happening on here over the next week. I'm hopping to at least pop in with some pictures here and there and MAYBE a video if you're lucky :) 

Less than one week til Christmas! GAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

And We're back!

Back home safe and sound in the ATL.

I was a bit worried that the trip to KC would eat up the weekend and leave me feeling uber drained this morning, but it was quite the opposite. Hip hip hooray! I think something about flying to and from a place in such a small time frame messed with our heads or something. Mix that with an active Friday night and an early Sunday flight and it was like we snuck in a long weekend. Score!

Friday after work I meet up with Mike and his classmates for some drinks at Ormsby's. 

Mike destroyed me in shuffleboard. What a jerk.

This bar is seriously awesome. They have darts and shuffleboard and BOCCE...in a BAR! How cool is that?? Well, not as cool as the hook and ring game we ended up playing obsessively.

I think Dave is trying to coach me in the bottom pic. No luck.

If you aren't familiar with this one, let me break it down for you. There's a hook on the wall and ring attached to a string hanging from the ceiling. Your goal is to swing the ring forward and hook it on the hook. Now there's a very subtle art to this game, but the addictive part comes from the built-in rebouding every time you miss. It's like,"Oh you missed? No worries. Here, try again....and again...and again..."

Saturday we got into KC right in time for lunch and went with my parents to Fud in KC, MO. 

Check out the gold walls. Pretty snazzy.

An entirely vegan menu,Yay! The unanimous favorite dish was our appetizer, the nachos with jack chckn.

Om, nom, nom

And for dessert a Tiger shake: caramel ice cream with a chocolate swirl :)

After lunch and a quick stroll around the hood, we made our way back to the hotel. Our room was epic!

I've never had a corner hotel room before. That means two views, guys.

Campus and Kansas.

We were right on the Kansas campus (Rock Chalk Jayhawk). So much so that our room came with a sound machine and earplugs. Though neither were needed, check out the cute note on the plugs.

It was an awesome day for a wedding. Sunny and 60, a perfect fall day. Everything was beautiful  Mike and I were able to kick back, enjoy some drinks, and cut loose on the dance floor.

Oh and I still let out an "eeeeeeeee!" whenever I see my new name anywhere official.

Hope you had a happy weekend and made back to the week safe and sound as well!

My First OOTD: Look What I Made!

FRIDAY!!! And boy do I need it :)

Greetings bff's. Today I've got a special treat for you...My first ever OOTD!!!

What's an OOTD you ask? Outfit Of The Day of course! And this outfit is extra special because I made the dress myself! So without further ado...or bragging... here's how I'm looking today:

Schoolhouse Tunic dress pattern from Sew Liberated . Plaid fabric from Hancock Fabrics. Boots and tights from Target. (faux leather btw)

Easy bun and light make-up to finish it off.

I love how comfy this tunic dress is. I'm thinking I could have perhaps gone down a size, but I like the bagginess, and the pleating details on the skirt add some structure. As you can see it's super cute with tights and boots. I think it would also look great dressed down with leggings and converse-style tennies. Or I think you could dress it up with tights, flats, and a belt to cinch in the waist. I have a thin gold belt that I think would do the trick and would be festive for the holidays.

I'm wearing the tunic layered with a simple white cami, but there's plenty of space in bodice and sleeves to layer it with a long sleeve thermal or maybe even a turtleneck as I've heard those are back in vogue this season. Special thanks to Daily Grace for keeping me current on fashion trends.

Pattern and Class Review

First, a shoutout to Brooke at Beehive Atlanta for being a super awesome instructor. I'm confident that the dress would have had a few more boo boos without her help.

The pattern itself was really well made and super easy to follow, with only a couple steps that I needed guidance on. This was my first time completing what Brooke called an "independent pattern" meaning it wasn't from one of the big name pattern makers. Here's what I see as the major reasons to buy independent: 1.) Easier to understand instructions. 2.) Trendier styles. 3.) Supporting small business.

The class was awesome. It was my first time having someone professionally trained watch me as I sewed. I picked up a lot of great tips and tricks and definitely improved on my skill set. Last night one of the other ladies in the class mentioned how sewing isn't really a money saver the way it used to be, which is true. Fabrics and patterns can be pretty expensive, not to mention the cost of a class or two, but for me the class and sewing in general is an awesome hobby with totally usable results. See above ;)

Friday Forecast

Mike and I have a pretty exciting weekend planned. So exciting that it involves air travel! We are heading to Kansas City, Lawrence to be more precise, for my godbrother's wedding. It's our first time in KC and our first wedding now that we are on the other side :) Looking forward to kicking back and relaxing at this one.

Cheers to a fabulous weekend!